Tackling the Sleepless Routine

It's 4 am and do you know where your Mother is? Well, if she's my age (51), there's a good chance she is up and roaming the house. One of the most dissatisfying aspects to growing older is the inability to sleep through the night. While some people resort to sleeping pills and other possibly addictive medications, I prefer a more natural approach.



First, set a plan for what you'll do if you wake up in the night before you go to bed. Perhaps you will fold laundry. Maybe you'll write thank you notes. I often plan to write a post. I find that if I say this plan out loud before I go to sleep, it eliminates confusion when I wake up. Also, if the plan is so dismal, I can accurately force myself back into sleep.



Second, wind down slowly. Take time in your beauty routine before going to sleep. Remove all make-up, moisturize and pamper in slow fashion. It'll be good for your face and body as well as help you lull yourself to bed.



Finally, I like taking Melatonin with a glass of water each night. This is a natural supplement consisting of melatonin and vitamin B-6. There are some warnings on the bottle but the print is too small for me to read (just kidding), but as always, you should know what works for you.



As any baby boomer or empty nest parent knows, it's not the waking up in the middle of the night that's the hard part. It's functioning properly the following day that's hard! Performing some of the easiest functions can be challenging without a full night's sleep. But planning your wee hour time, unwinding slowly before bedtime and possibly using a product like melatonin may help you avoid that fuzzy daytime existence all together.